Reducing Customer Churn with the Right Experience

Mobile devices and services vs churn

A device maker/seller in a fiercely competitive market facing constant innovation is at the whim of the customer when it comes to upgrading. Communications Service Providers (CSPs) can offer more data or free minutes as part of retention efforts that the customer may not end up using, while a broadband provider is traditionally limited to offering  tier upgrades at a discount, which subsequently impacts revenue.

To limit that impact, all businesses must understand why churn is happening, learn how to predict and mitigate it, and develop offerings that are more likely to convince customers to stay.

This approach requires engaging with customers, something that many digital businesses are ill-equipped for. Many provide poorly designed automated response web forms or SMS satisfaction surveys that give no opportunity for individual feedback.

Engagement efforts should start early—long before a customer is thinking of leaving—-to ensure that their sign-up, onboarding, delivery, or other initial engagements are of the highest quality. Identifying those customers that are at greatest risk of churn is one effective way to start a customer experience management process.

The rise of smart networks for CSPs

CSPs have been trying to avoid the dumb-pipe future for many years through media offerings, expanding device stores, and improved packages. One way to avoid churn is to get more products into the consumer’s hands, offering additional value, or getting them to build content and social engagement within a custom environment.

CSPs need a way to deliver  offers and roll out new services to customers while also having access to  real-time, reliable analytics in order to understand both successes and issues quickly, securely, and at scale without the need to invest in expensive new infrastructure.

Demand for smart residential networks and services is increasing, and provides a key way for CSPs to provide added value through a new generation of smart solutions for powerful home networks with improved security.

Customer Experience Management (CEM) systems provide a way for CSPs to monitor their  subscribers, reduce the cost of customer acquisition, identify valuable customers, and deliver the right incentives to maximize retention. A software-defined, cloud-based CEM can help CSPs deliver a growing suite of end-to-end services to help build loyalty and drive retention.

Using a CEM provides a stylish front-end for an exceptional  user experience that reduces negative impressions and issues. Personalized support helps reduce call queues and times, while the back-end helps monitor user experience and provide analytics that can help inform retention and sales strategies.

Developing and monitoring engagement strategies through a CEM helps support CSP operations, providing insights and analytics into customer costs, revenue generated, and business outcomes—all of which leads to better customer satisfaction and retention.

Consumers will feel they’re getting value from their CSP, including the ability to monitor all the devices using the WiFi in their home, allowing them to see who and what is consuming bandwidth, and giving them the ability to control smart home devices from their phone or tablet.

The switched-on consumer future

As homes get smarter and consumers become more aware of the power of their wireless broadband, their devices, and their smart home technology, retaining them will be a major priority for any digital service provider.

There will likely be a battle between CSPs, ISPs, and mobility providers trying to position 5G as the broadband future, along with innovative players using a mix of connectivity and services to disrupt the industry.

With a leadership-mandated mission to reduce churn, all businesses will increasingly focus on analytics and data-driven insights, both to protect their customers and to create approaches that can attract rival consumers or prospects.

Any firm taking the above steps now will be better positioned for the years ahead when an AI-powered, insights-based battle will lead to a wider range of innovative and disruptive methods to win customers. For CSPs, offering the best experience now with smart technology that outpaces traditional offerings will make a great starting point.

Further reading:

• Keeping Up with Shifting Digital Consumer Behavior
• How to Elevate Personalization and Performance
• Why WiFi is the Essential Foundation for Smart Home Success